Rally around Packer, says Fairfax chief

Fairfax Media
chief executive Greg Hywood has cast aside traditional media rivalries to hail Crown Ltd boss and Channel Ten stakeholder
James Packer
as a true leader who had “got to the top of the political tree".

Mr Hywood confessed it was unusual for a Fairfax employee to be lauding “a member of the Packer family".

But he said it was important to acknowledge that since Mr Packer repositioned his family’s wealth into the hotel and gaming industries, he had emerged as a leader behind which the fragmented tourism sector could unite and stand as one with vastly increased lobbying power.

Mr Hywood was addressing tourism leaders at Parliament House in Canberra for the Tourism and Transport Forum’s Leadership 2012 summit. Mr Hywood said that thanks to a “personal and business transformation", Mr Packer had won the ear of the nation’s political leaders and “convinced the politicians that China matters; he’s got people to realise the full power of gaming".

“The biggest weakness of [the tourism] industry is its fragmentation. You don’t speak with a united voice. Now you have a leader: use it," he said.

Mr Packer had grasped the concept that tourists wanted “built product" such as high-end hotels and casinos – not just natural attractions.